Liner inserting device



July 28, V1959 w. J. 'r-ILTONv Erm. y 2,396,516

LINER INSERTING DEVICE Filed Feb. 2e, 1957 Y f g2 e .Hl iT':

I VENTORS.

j, WMZ/w ATTORNEYS,

United States Patent C LINER INSERTING DEVICE William I. Tilton and William T. Leslie, Middletown,

Ohio, assignors to Raymond Bag Corporation, Middletown, Ohio, a corporation of hio Application February 28, 1957, Serial No. 643,110

9 Claims. (Cl. 93-8) Our invention relates to a liner inserting device and more particularly to a device for positioning a limp flexible liner so that it may be readily inserted in a bag with which the liner is to be used.

'Our invention finds particular utility in the iield of multi-wall bags such as those commonly used to package fertilizer and similar material. There has recently developed in this field an increasing demand for bags containing an inner liner formed from polyethylene, pliolm or others of the non-fibrouslms of commerce. These films are extremely limp and flexible and difficult to handle, particularly when formed into liners of a size to be fittted in a relatively large bag, such for example as a 15 x 24 bag or larger. These problems are multiplied where the bag itself is of the bellows or gusset variety, the gussets extending along the opposite sides of the bag tube further complicating the insertion and positioning of the liner. To the best of our knowledge no one has heretofore provided a satisfactory device for inserting liners in bags of the type just described.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of our invention to provide a liner inserting device by means of which limp flexible liners formed from non-fibrous lm may be accurately positioned and readily inserted in a bag tube.

A further object of our invention is the provision of a liner inserting device by means of which the liner may be neatly folded and held in position, whereupon the bag tube is fitted around the supported liner and the tube and liner conjointly removed from the supporting means.

A further object of our invention is the provision of means of the character described which are extremely inexpensive in construction and operation and which greatly speed up the insertion of the liners in the bag tubes.

The foregoing, together with additional objects of our invention which will appear hereinafter or which will be apparent to the skilled worker in the art upon reading these specifications, we accomplish by that construction and arrangement of parts of which we shall now describe an exemplary embodiment.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of a device in accordance with my invention.

`Figure la is an enlarged fragmentary plan View of a corner of the liner support.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the initial step of positioning a liner on the liner support.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on reduced scale taken along the line 4--4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view similar to Figure 4 but on an enlarged scale illustrating the liner in folded and registered position with a surrounding bag tube illustrated in dotted lines.

Patented July 28, 1959 ICC Figure -6 is a perspective view With parts broken away illustrating the fully inserted liner.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the device comprises a platform or base 1 upon which a hopper or receptacle 2 is provided, the hopper being of a size to receive a plurality of bag liners 3 arranged in a stack. The innermost wall 4 of the hopper is preferably provided with a plurality of recessed portions or openings 5 to facilitate the removal of the liners from the hopper and their positioning on the elongated support 6 positioned adjacent the hopper.

The liner support `6 is in the form of an elongated shelf spaced upwardly from the platform, 1 and supported solely at its rear end on the block 7 xed to or forming a part of Ithe platform 1. The liner supporting member thus projects freely forwardly from the block 7 and its length is such that a bag tube may be fitted `around the freely extending portion thereof. The width of the supporting member is less than the width of the liner itself, although the side edges of the supporting member ultimately determine the width of the folded liner as it is prepared for insertion into the bag.

Preferably, the liner supporting member or shelf is formed in a plurality of relatively movable parts so that the width of the support may be altered depending upon the, sizes of the bags and liners being handled. Thus, as best seen in Figures l and 5, the liner support comprises a pair of outer members S and 9 having oppositely directed shoulders 10 and 11 against which intermediate parts 12 and 13 are secured, as by means of threaded studs 14.' With this arrangement, the outer members 8 and 9 may be moved apart and yet the integrity of the support will be maintained by the overlapping portions of the inner members 12 and 13. To facilitate adjustment of the support, the block 7 is preferably provided with a series of spaced apart threaded openings, suchas the sets of openings 14a and 14h adapted to selectively receive the threaded studs 15 by means of which the outer member 9 is secured to the block. A similar arrangement may be provided for the outer member 8, although this member can be permanently xed tothe block, as by means of studs 16.

Extending lengthwise along the side edges of the outer members S and 9 are hollow tubes or passageways 17 and 18 which, at their outer ends, extend :along the front edges of the outer members and are sealed at their free ends. At their opposite ends the passageways are connected to flexible tubing 19v and 20` joined together by a Y-fitting 21 leading to a Vacuum pump 22 by means of which a partial vacuum or suction may be drawn on the tubes. Along the front edges of the -outer members each of the tubes has a series of upwardly opening perforations 23 and 24 and, if desired, additional perforatons 25 and 26 may be provided intermediate the ends of the tubes. As will become apparent hereinafter, the suction tubes are employed as a means to register and maintain the liners in position on the support.

At or adjacent its free side edge, the inner member 13 mounts a longitudinally extending folding board 27 hingedly secured to the member 13 and movable from a vertical or upstanding position, such as that seen in Figures 2 and 4, to `a horizontal or Hat-folded position such as that seen in Figure 5. As best seen in the latter figure, the folding board may be hingedly secured to the member 13 by means of a hinge 28 one leaf of which is secured to the folding board 27 and the other secured either directly to the member 13- or to a spacing strip 29 axed to the upper surface thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the folding board is 3 in width, althougl its dimensions do not constitute a limitation on our in vention and will be determined by the requirements of use.

While the folding board may be freely movable from the vertical to the horizontal position, we prefer to bias it to the Vertical position, as by means of a spring 30 which, in the embodiment illustrated, is engaged-by a cord 31 passing around adisc-lilie member 32 fixedly secured to the rearmost end of the folding board. An adjustable abutment or stop 33 determines the ver-tical position of the folding board. lt is intendedthat the folding board be moved to the horizontal or flat-folded position by the operator, the movement of the folding board automatically bringing its rearmost edge beneath the head 34 of the spring biased latch 35. The latch is, however, releasable by means of the knee or hand treadle 36 projecting forwardly adjacent a side edge of the platform 1, there being a link 37 connecting one end of the treadle -to the latch 35. Disengaging movement of the latch -is effected by moving the `treadle inwardly relative to the platform l against the tension of the spring 38.

In the operation of our device, an operator is stationed i to the right of the platform, as viewed in Figures l and 2, facing the liner supporting member. The operator reaches across the supporting member and grips the uppermost one of the liners in the hopper 2. This may be conveniently done by extending the fingers through the opening 5 in the near side of the hopper. The uppermost liner is removed from the stack and moved forwardly over the support 6 and the upstanding vertically disposed folding board 27 projecting upwardly from the support.VV Initially, the operator brings the liner to the general position illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 in which the opposite side edges of the liner project outwardly beyond the side edges of the support, as defined yby the suction passageways 17 and ld. ln this position, an intermediate portion of the liner will project upwardly being supported by the uppermost edge of the folding board 27. The liner will be retained in this position by the suction or vacuum created at the perforations 23, 24, 25 and 26. The operator then presses inwardly along the length of the liner at substantially the point indicated by the arrow A in Figure 4. This may be done by running the heel of the hand lengthwise along the liner, thereby bringp vacuum or suction tending to hold the liner against the perforations 24 and 26. Should the side edge of the liner come into registry with the side edge of the support before the liner is fiush against the support and :the near side edge of the folding board, the operator can readily cause a portion of the liner to be pulled over the topof the folding board. Thereafter, the folding board is moved to the horizontally or flat-folded position, and this automatically folds the liner to the position illustrated in Figure 5 Similarly, the movement of the folding board causes the leftmost side edge of the liner to be brought into registry with the side edge of the support as defined by the passageway 17. It will be understood that this may be readily accomplished by adjusting the width of the support. The liner is thus brought into registry with its'opposite side edges held against the opposite side'edges of the support. The intermediate portion of the liner will have a neat fold therein as created by the folding board.

A suitable supply of bags will be maintained immediately beyond the end of the liner support 6, as on a slide 39. Upon the proper positioning and folding of a liner on the support, a bag, such as the `bag 4G, will be expanded slightly at its mouth and fitted over the liner support, being moved rearwardly until its bottom abuts against the forward edge of the support. This will result in the liner [being carried to the full depth of the bag. Thereafter the operator grips the bottom end of the bag and the liner contained therein and simultaneously withdraws them. To this end, it is preferable that the free end of the support be provided with a cutout or recessed portion 4l (Figures 1 and 3) which will facilitate the joint removal of the bag and liner from the support. As will be clearly evident from Figure 6, the liner is neatly positioned within the bag and extends fully to the bottom of the bag. Generally, the liner is made somewhat longer than the bag so that its upper end may lap over the bag in the manner illustrated. It will be understood that the bag and liner will have subsequent operations performed upon them; but these constitute no part of the present invention. It is competent to point out, y'however, that the folded condition of the liner has been found to be highly satisfactory for subsequent filling of the structure. As the bag is filled, the liner will expand and ultimately occupy the full cross section of the bag.

Modifications may, of course, be made in our invention without departing from the spirit of it. Having, however, described our invention in an exemplary embodiment, what we desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A liner inserting device comprising a platform, an elongated liner support overlying said platform in spaced relation therewith, said liner support being secured to said platform at one end only, whereby the remaining end and ythe sides of said platform are free to be surrounded by an open ended bag, a folding board extending lengthwise of said support intermediate the opposite side edges thereof, and vacuum means extending lengthwise along the opposite side edges of said support for registering the edges of a liner with the edges of said support.

2. The structure claimed in claim l wherein said support is formed in a plurality of relatively adjustable parts, whereby the width of said support may be adjusted.

3. The structure claimed in claim l wherein said folding board is hingedly connected to the upper surface of said support and movable from a vertical position to a horizontal position, and means normally biasing said folding board to the vertical position.

4. The device claimed in claim 3 including latch means for retaining said folding board in the horizontal posiionl,1 and operator lcontrolled means for releasing said atc 5. Thedevice claimed in claim 4 including a hopper on said platform adjacent but spaced from a side edge of said liner support.

6. In a vacuum feeding device for the purposes described, supporting means comprising an elongated liner receiving member mounted at one end only to a supporting block, a major portion of said supporting member extending freely beyond said block, whereby an openended bag may Ibe fitted around said liner receiving member, suction means extending along the longitudinal side edges of said liner receiving member, and a liner folding means extending lengthwise of said liner receiving member intermediate the said longitudinal side edges thereof.

7. The structure claimed in claim 6 wherein said liner folding means comprises a folding board hingedly connected to the upper surface of said liner receiving member and movable from a vertical to a horizontal position.

8. The structure claimed in claim 7 wherein said liner receiving member comprises a plurality of relatively adjustable members, whereby the width of said support may be altered.

9. A method of inserting a flat tubular liner in a bag which comprises the step of providing an elongated support for said liner, said liner having a width in excess of the width of said support, positioning said liner on said support and effecting a longitudinal fold therein such as to bring the opposite side edges of said liner into substantial registry with the opposite side edges of said support and maintaining said liner in such position, effecting relative movement between an open mouth bag and said support so as to cause said bag to surround said support and the liner maintained thereon, and thereafter causing said bag and said liner to be concurrently withdrawn from said support, whereby to position said folded `liner within said bag.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Naylor Aug. 22, 1905 Astley July 13, 1920 Bergstein Oct, 12, 1937 Bennett Aug. 7, 1945 Billeb Mar. 19, 1957 

